N’Delta: New group emerges, flays ongoing talks with FG

A new militant group, the Niger Delta Searchlight (NDS), which announced their emergence over the weekend with a vow to flout any ceasefire agreement reached with the Federal Government by other armed groups operating in the Niger Delta region.

In a statement issued on Monday, members threatened to continue with the bombing of oil installations if the Niger Delta Avengers pull out following ongoing dialogue between the representatives of the FG and the militant groups.

In the statement made available to journalists the NDS stated that it is not comfortable with the quality of Niger Delta leaders currently spearheading the dialogue on behalf of the armed agitators.

The group which declined to give the names of its preferred leaders warned that, “We will not recognize any ceasefire agreement and we are ready to sustain the struggle until all oil firms in the Niger Delta abandon the region.

“The bombings and destruction of oil installations currently going on in the Niger Delta, will be nothing compared to what will come if the Federal Government does not include recognized Niger Delta leaders in the ongoing negotiations”.

It continued that, “it is not true that all the bombings are done by the Niger Delta Avengers but we have allowed them claim responsibility to allow for cohesion in the struggle but it is obvious that they are compromised, especially given their choice of representatives.

“We want leaders who can command followership in the Niger Delta, who can state our demands without fear, not Abuja politicians who are only using the struggle as a platform to advance their selfish interests at the detriment of the overall interest of the region”.